The Stanley Cup Playoffs: Conference Finals and Cup Finals (continued)

With this last post I will take you to the end of my predictions, all the way to which team I think is going to win the cup.  Let's begin!

Western Conference:  Finals

In the Western Conference the final match up will be between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators.  This series is where the President Trophy jynx will kick in.  For those of you who don't know, the President's Trophy jynx is basically the inability of the top team of the regular season the win the Stanley Cup.  This curse will likely display itself through Vancouver's goaltending, just like it did last year.  These two teams met in the second round of last year's playoffs, and Vancouver took that series.  This will not be the case.  With revenge on their mind, the Predators will eliminate the Canucks, leaving Vancouver disappointed once again.

Easern Conference:  Finals

In the Eastern Conference the match up will be between the neighboring states of New Jersey and New York.  Although the hockey interest isn't as extreme in those locations as compared to here in Canada, this will prove to be an exciting series.  After looking at their regular season games and their rosters,  I've decided to give the advantage to New York.  Once again it comes down to depth on the New York roster.  Both teams have a stellar top two lines, but when matching up the third and fourth lines, the advantage lies with the Rangers.  Also, New York has the advantage in net.  Their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, is at the prime of his career, while Martin Brodeur is passed his.

The Stanley Cup Finals

Everything previously posted has led us up to this point.  If you have been following, this mean that the New York Rangers and the Nashville Predators are the two teams remaining.  First of all I looked at the offensive power each team has.  New York has a handful of star forwards and the depth to back them up.  Nashville has a solid four lines of forwards, but no big names or star players.  I decided to give the offensive advantage to New York.  Secondly, I looked at the defensive match up.  Nashville's roster contains some of the best defense in the NHL, all topped by team captain and NHL All Star Shea Webber.  In this category New York can't compete.  Thirdly I looked at goal tending.  Judging from NHL experience, stats and playing style, I have no choice but to give the advantage to New York's goaltender, Lundqvist.  With all of this noted, my predicted outcome is that the New York Rangers will be hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of the regular season!